Apple and Google have topped the list as the world’s most valuable brands for the fifth consecutive year as the technology sector continues to dominate global brand rankings.

Apple’s brand value grew by 3% to US$184.2 billion, as Google’s brand value grew by 6% to US$141.7 billion in the latest best brands report from Interband.

Microsoft climbed to third position as one of 16 brands with double-digit percent growth.

Following Coca-Cola at #4 are Amazon, Samsung, Toyota, and Facebook, which breaks into the top 10 for the first-time at number 8 – with Mercedes-Benz and IBM rounding out the top 10.

{loadposition peter}The five top growing brands include Facebook (48% growth), leading for the second year running, Amazon (29%), Adobe (19%), Adidas (17%), and Starbucks (16%).

Ferrari at 88, and Netflix and Salesforce.com at 78 and 84 respectively made the list for the first time.

“We are living in one of the most exciting periods of change — societal, technological, industrial — that impacts every aspect of commerce and life,” said Jez Frampton, global chief executive of Interbrand.

“In this ever-shifting context, growth becomes more challenging, which is why businesses need brands more than ever. The Best Global Brands understand that brands are the platform for growth.”

More than half of the best global brands came from four sectors: Automotive (16), Technology (15), Financial Services (12), and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (9) – and retail is the top growing sector in percentage terms (19%), followed by sporting goods (10%), technology (8%), logistics (7%), and financial services (6%).

Interbrand reports that the top 100 brands have a combined total value of US $1.88 trillion, an increase of 4.2% from 2016.

Innovation is driving the growth of the global ride-sharing industry with service providers and operators likely to pull in an estimated US$11 billion in revenue this year, increasing to US$19 billion in 2022.

According a new report from Juniper Research, the global ride-sharing market is set to represent 47% of sharing economy platform revenues by 2022, as operators grow established markets through innovation, and as surge pricing events during times of high demand aid in boosting revenues.

The study noted that providers are increasingly relying upon these periods of high demand, with surge pricing events set to account for 30% of total revenues by 2022. The research cautioned against overuse which, Juniper says, could see “cries of extortion from consumers”.

“Players including BlaBlaCar, which is expanding its operations through car-pooling, and Lyft which is strengthening its partnerships towards the development of autonomous vehicles, are setting their sights on diversifying their business models in order to out-pace rivals,” said research author Lauren Foye.

{loadposition peter}But Juniper found that in established markets, currently regulatory approaches, coupled with increased wage pressures on workers, would see driver numbers fall.

The research also found that driver numbers in Western markets would peak at 390,000 in 2020, before falling to 322,000 by 2022, as changes to employment laws in a number of key markets are expected to come into play, including UK legislation post Brexit.

As such, Juniper says providers are encouraged to seek appeasement with their workers, whether through restructuring of wages, or through greater clarification of rights, as has been seen attempted by food delivery provider Deliveroo.

The competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is appealing against the High Court’s decision dismissing its allegations that LG Electronics made false or misleading representations to consumers about repair, replacement or refund rights in relation to faulty televisions.

The Court dismissed the ACCC’s allegations, finding that LG was under no obligation to inform these consumers of the existence of the Australian Consumer Law remedies available to them because the inquiry made by consumers related only to the manufacturer’s warranty.

“The ACCC has appealed this decision in order to seek clarity from the Full Federal Court. In particular, this appeal is about the extent to which manufacturers should inform people seeking a remedy for a faulty product about their consumer guarantee rights,” ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said.

“Products and services come with consumer guarantees which may provide remedies over and above those in any manufacturer’s warranty.

{loadposition peter}“The ACCC will take appropriate action to ensure that consumers are not misled about their consumer guarantee rights.”

The ACCC originally commenced proceedings in the Federal Court in December 2015, but the case was dismissed by the Federal Court’s Justice Middleton on 1 September this year.

The Enterprise Services business was merged with Computer Sciences Corporation to become DXC Technology in 2017. Earlier HPE also spun off its software business and merged it with British mainframe company Micro Focus.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anand Srinivasan was quoted as saying: “These cuts will likely cause changes that may last for one or two quarters. They also don’t address the longer-term sales-growth weakness amid public cloud growth.”

The CompTIA ANZ Channel Community has announced the launch of a mentoring initiative, with a six-month pilot to be undertaken with 50 mentors and mentees.

Powered by Mentorloop, a mentoring software platform, the ANZ Channel Community is running a six-month pilot with 50 mentors and mentees in total.

The role of mentor is open to any member of the ANZ CompTIA Channel Community while the mentee position is only available to premier members. The community is in the process of matching mentors with mentees.

Moheb Moses, ANZ community director, CompTIA, and director, Channel Dynamics, said, “The ANZ Channel Community decided on pursuing the mentoring initiative at our April community meeting. The community identified a mentoring program as an initiative that would have the greatest positive impact on the industry locally. It will aid members, particularly younger members, in their professional development.

{loadposition peter}“We have members that have joined the ANZ Channel Community because the industry has been good to them, and they want to give back. Becoming part of this program gives people a platform to do that by sharing their knowledge and experience with others.

“With a lot of new talent coming into the industry it is important that we nurture them from the outset. They often have a lot of energy, enthusiasm, and big ideas, and now they will have the opportunity to be guided in the best way to channel their ideas successfully and avoid any pitfalls along the way. The ultimate aim of the program is help accelerate young people’s success in the industry.”

Using Mentorloop the ANZ Channel Community can match mentors and mentees based on location, meeting frequency and format preferences, skill set, and goals.

Moses said, “Once looped in, the users can use the portal to manage their relationship based on best practice.”

Karen Drewitt, ANZ channel community chair and general manager, The Missing Link, said, “Mentoring is incredibly important for the betterment of our industry. The more we, as an industry, can find ways to be more proficient, the more value we can add. And, with skills gaps across the IT sector, it’s critical to nurture and develop talent.

“Mentors also have a lot to gain from becoming part of the program. There is a lot to be said for being exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. Mentors are in a fortunate position to spread their expertise beyond their own organisation, which shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Moses said, “Australia is essentially trialling the platform and will hopefully offer a framework that can be used in CompTIA communities globally. We look forward to seeing how the trial goes and expanding the programme in the future.”

Australian businesses are innovating less, despite their positive views that Australia’s culture of innovation remains largely unchanged, according to a newly published index.

The latest National Australia Bank Labs Business Innovation Index fell to 59.8 points in Q2 2017, from 67.6 points a year ago, with all three components — doing things differently, more quickly and more cost efficiently — of the Index lower.

According to NAB chief economist Alan Oster, Australia’s next growth cycle must be defined by ideas, creativity and execution.

“Our future lies in our ability to foster a culture of innovation across the economy,” Oster says.

{loadposition peter}According to NAB, while the index saw a decline, business perceptions of the culture of innovation in Australia, their industry and own organisation were largely unchanged, despite this not translating into actual innovation behaviours.

“While business does not believe that the culture of innovation has changed, when measured against actual behaviours, innovation appears to have declined over the past 12 months, irrespective of business size,” Oster says.

“There is a bit of a ‘perception v reality’ disconnect, in terms of what we think we’re doing to innovate and what we’re actually doing when we measure behaviours and outputs.

“It’s hard to pinpoint why that disconnect may be occurring, but perhaps it’s reflective of a less conducive economic environment over the past year and more cautious business behaviours.”

The report, however, shows a strong a correlation between the level of innovation within a business and the extent to which their leaders encourage innovation.

“The Index clearly shows that when innovation is encouraged by the leaders within an organisation, innovative behaviours follow,” Oster says.

“It is telling us that business leaders encourage innovation because of the value it can create in higher productivity, new processes, competitive advantage, adaptation to changing circumstances and differentiation.”

The report showed the biggest benefits to business from their innovative activities were improved customer satisfaction (6.0) and productivity (5.9), and innovative activities resulted in fewer benefits associated with new products and services (5.1).

Business innovation author and Professor of Management at the University of Melbourne, Professor Danny Samson, said companies need to have a “front of mind” attitude to innovation, stimulating problem solving and creativity as a systematic capability to foster change and growth.

“Innovation can be much more than just the province of executives or technical specialists, but rather a ‘full court press’, being included in organisational goal-setting, measurement and reporting, strategic priority statements, and ultimately in behaviour and culture,” Professor Samson said.

To access an interactive e-brochure summarising the report, including Australian business case studies from Telstra, legal services firm LegalVision, aquaculture company Yumbah and bike accessories manufacturer Knog, click here.

Issues for consumers relating to increased connectivity and the digital world are under the microscope at a two-day conference of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network which kicked-off in Sydney on Wednesday.

“Digital technology has transformed consumer experiences,” said ACCAN chief executive Teresa Corbin. “Consumers can buy products, access information, and communicate with people anywhere in the world with just the touch of a button. This increased connectivity raises some big questions and implications for consumers.

“As we become more and more connected and government services move online, how can we ensure that everyone can get access to the internet? How safe is our personal information? What information is being collected about us from connected devices? These are some of the issues we’ll explore at the conference.”

The conference, at the Aerial UTS Function Centre in Sydney, has a keynote presentation being delivered via video by Consumers International director-general, Amanda Long, who will talk about CI’s campaign to build a digital world consumers can trust and the G20 Consumer Summit held earlier this year in Germany which resulted in 10 recommendations for improved global consumer protection in a digital world.

And research about the privacy and security of IoT devices completed under the ACCAN Grants Scheme will be launched at the conference and attendees will also get to hear presentations on connected farms, how the NBN will adapt in an ever changing environment.

“We’re looking forward to engaging with consumers, industry, government and regulators on future issues and what the implications may be for consumers in a highly connected world,” Corbin said.

In addition, there will be presentations from the Communications Minister Senator Mitch Fifield, Shadow Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland and Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Stephen Jones.

GS1, the global business communications standards organisation, has announced a collaboration with IBM and Microsoft to leverage GS1 standards in their enterprise blockchain applications for supply chain clients.

“Blockchain, like any other technology designed to exchange data across organisations, must be established on strong foundations. At its core, any supply chain implementation needs to be based on all involved parties agreeing on a common way to uniquely identify any item, location, shipment, consignment, asset or any other ‘thing’ that blockchain transactions relate to,” Palazzolo says.

“Trading partners must also adhere to common data definitions to ensure all parties in the chain can correctly interpret, and integrate, the ‘meaning’ of data in the blockchain. This is what GS1 has been doing for over 40 years across the globe.”

{loadposition peter}Data stored or referenced by blockchain networks can be structured for shared communications and interoperability through the use of standards. For example, the GS1 and ISO open standards of Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) and Core Business Vocabulary (CBV) enable standardised exchange of data and item-level tracking.

Peter Carter from CSIRO’s Data61 said, “A blockchain is a generic technology platform. The data we store in the blockchain still needs to follow supply chain data standards, and integrate with existing systems that use those standards. We have already started research into the use of GS1 EPCIS standards on block chain, and we are exploring how we can integrate smart sensors and packaging into the supply chain on blockchain.”

“What attracts many organisations to block chain technology is the possibility of sharing data across corporate boundaries while maintaining a high degree of rigour and accuracy,” said Robert Beadsman, vice-president – retail, GS1.

“We hope to make this possibility a reality for businesses by working with dedicated technology and industry partners – and together promoting a common business language.”

Australian tech business OACIS, which claims to be the “world’s only” mobile, pop-up check-in solutions company, has partnered with travel technology provider Amadeus to launch a new "off-airport" pop-up airline check-in service.

The two companies announced the partnership citing a report by the Airports Council International that the strain on airports with the airline check-in process will continue to increase in the coming years with a prediction that global passenger traffic will grow 5.2% per annum until 2029.

According to both companies, with the power of Amadeus’ Airport Common Use Service cloud technology, OACIS can quickly provide travellers with an off-airport, fully mobile check-in service that can be set up at any location – “whether it be a cruise terminal, hotel, train station, or a major conference or event”.

{loadposition peter}Matthew Lee, chief executive of OACIS, says, “Our service is about giving people more freedom, flexibility and fun so they get the most out of their travel. Travellers can drop off their bags at a convenient location, make the most of their day luggage-free, breeze through the airport without having to queue at the check-in desk, and enjoy their flight knowing their bags will be ready for them at their destination.

“To do this, we needed the right partner, and Amadeus fit the bill. They were open to working with innovative, disruptive new players, and we were impressed by their agility which has allowed us to launch so quickly.”

Virgin Australia is the first airline to adopt the service and has already piloted it in Sydney for cruise ships and ocean liners.

Sarah Samuel, head of Airport IT Sales, Amadeus Asia Pacific, says, “In the past, airlines and airports have been constrained by low innovation and legacy technology, but our cutting-edge cloud technology is enabling new business models and opportunities, such as OACIS. By collaborating with innovators, we are transforming the travel experience.”

“Through this partnership, airlines are no longer restricted in the way they manage passenger flow. With OACIS, they can be agile in their service offerings, avoid queues and congestion, and create a better traveller experience. In the future, they may be able to do away with the airport check-in desk all together, opening up that space for other revenue opportunities. ”

OACIS says that following the Australian launch of the new service it plans to expand to New Zealand and other markets in the next 12 to 18 months.

Australian courier and door-to-door online delivery service Sendle is partnering with global logistics giant DHL eCommerce to offer international parcel delivery services for small businesses in Australia.

According to Sendle chief executive and co-founder James Chin Moody, the “ground-breaking” move means small businesses in Australia will soon enjoy door-to-door delivery with Sendle managing domestic pick-ups in Australia and DHL eCommerce providing access to more than 220 countries and territories in DHL’s network worldwide.

“From day one, our mission has been to unlock the power of big business delivery infrastructure for millions of small businesses. Our agreement with DHL eCommerce, a true world leader in logistics, is a major step forward in levelling the playing field in Australia,” Chin Moody says.

“By doing so, we aim to help more small businesses expand globally and thrive in the Amazon age. With this international parcel delivery service, our customers will be able to ship internationally within a few clicks and pay for it online – it has never been so simple.”

{loadposition peter}The partnership with DHL eCommerce comes as Sendle announced it has just passed one billion kilometres of carbon-neutral parcel delivery “on behalf of tens of thousands of small businesses”.

The company claims revenue has grown 20% month-on-month and it recently announced integration with major e-commerce players Neto, Xero, Shipstation and Shopify.

Charles Brewer, chief executive, DHL eCommerce, says delivery performance is a critical success factor for any e-commerce business and “an extremely crucial part of the consumer’s shopping experience”.

“Australian SMEs are winners in this partnership as we combine DHL’s global expertise and reach with Sendle’s deep knowledge of small businesses to create simple and affordable solutions for international parcel delivery.”

Chin Moody said with the partnership with DHL now signed, he expected Sendle’s international shipping service to be available to selected Sydney customers in time for Christmas deliveries and to roll out nationwide in 2018.

And, Chin Moody says, in anticipation of “enormous demand”, Sendle is inviting small businesses to register to be part of a pilot programme.

For more information and to register interest in the pilot programme click here.